Mata Hari - who is this? Real facts from the life of a famous dancer

Mata Hari, photo, biography, personal life, whose family will be represented in the article, was a famous performer of dances and courtesans. It was of Dutch origin. This woman became famous during the First World War.

Who is Mata Hari? Biography, photo

The heroine of the article was born in the Netherlands. которой - Маргарета Гертруда, являлась единственной дочерью Адама Зелле. Mata Hari, whose real name is Margaret Gertrude, was the only daughter of Adam Zelle. She had three brothers . 1876-1917 гг.) получила хорошее образование. Mata Hari (years of life - 1876-1917) received a good education. This became possible due to the entrepreneurial activities of his father. Adam owned a hat shop and successfully invested in the oil industry. Up to 13 years Margareta attended only schools where the scions of the upper class were studying. But in 1899 the father went bankrupt. After a while, Adam divorced his wife. Margaret he sent to Snake to the godfather. Subsequently, she continued to study in Leiden. There was a rather unpleasant incident. In Leiden, Margareta received the profession of a teacher in a kindergarten. However, the director of the school began to flirt with her openly. The insulted godfather took the girl from the school. A few months later Margareta fled to The Hague to visit her uncle.

Indonesia

Mata Hari, photo, biography, whose personal life will later become the subject of research of many historians, was a very attractive person. At the age of 18 she married for the first time. It happened in Amsterdam, in 1895. The spouse was 39-year-old captain Rudolph MacLeod. Margaret got acquainted with him on the announcement. The couple moved to Fr. Java. Early marriage was the first desperate step that Mata Hari committed. Family, children, wife heavily burdened Rudolph. Soon the couple were disappointed in marriage. Rudolph had a weakness for alcohol, took out his dissatisfaction with life on his wife. He accused Margaret of all his troubles, including the fact that he can not advance in the service. In addition, Rudolph was scolded by women and openly kept mistresses. Margareta, disillusioned with her husband, moved to another officer - van Reders. For many months she actively studied the traditions of Indonesia, including through her work in the dance group. In 1897, Margaret for the first time used her pseudonym Mata Hari. This combination means "the sun". After the persuasion of Rudolph, Margaret returned to him again. However, her husband's behavior did not change. To forget, she continued to study the local culture.

The first tragedy

In 1898 the son of Margareta died at the age of 2 years. It is believed that he died of complications of syphilis transmitted to him from his parents. The spouses themselves claimed that the servant poisoned his son. In some sources there is information that Rudolph insulted the servant's husband. He in response ordered his wife to poison the son and daughter of Margaret and Rudolph. The servant mixed the poison with food. It was quite easy, because she was free to move around the house, was admitted to the kitchen. The boy was terribly tormented before his death. However, the daughter was able to survive. Some said that it was a real miracle, others pointed to the strong immunity of the child. Nevertheless, until now, it remains a mystery how she survived if the food was poisoned in both children. In 1903, Rudolph and Margareta divorced. At the same time, the former husband sued the right to raise a daughter who died at the age of 21. Presumably, the cause was also the complication of syphilis.

Paris

In 1905, the whole of France learned who Mata Hari was. этой женщины привлекали огромное количество поклонников. Biography, photos of this woman attracted a huge number of fans. It all began with the fact that after the divorce, Margaret was in a very distressed situation. To survive, she went to Paris. At first the city met her unfriendly. She had no means, so she had to limit herself to everything. First Margareta decided to work as a model. However, it quickly pushed the more successful competitors. Margareta did not have a magnificent form, so French artists did not really like her. She had to get into the circus Molière. There she worked with horses as a rider, calling herself Lady Gresh McLeod. At the same time, Margareta knew perfectly well that she would not earn such a fortune.

Carier start

In 1905, Mata Hari first appeared on the podium in Paris . говоря, мало кого интересовала сначала - все смотрели на тело. Biography, briefly , very few people were interested at first - everyone looked at the body. Margaret herself came up with a number. She remembered how, during her marriage in the East Indies, she saw oriental dances and what delight they had from the public. She showed her first number in the salon of Mrs. Kireevskaya. All the audience were delighted with the exotic movements of the dancer. The men remember most of all the final of the number, when the girl was completely naked. It is worth saying that Margareta was not a professional dancer. She just needed money.

Glory

Since 1905, Margareta became the most famous dancer of the "Oriental style", speaking under the pseudonym Mata Hari. It was a unique girl. Some of her dances were close in execution to modern striptease. At that time he was not yet accustomed to the Western viewer. At the end of her room, the dancer remained practically naked. "So wanted Shiva," - said Mata Hari. It was a real sacred dance. It was performed on stage in front of a small number of connoisseurs. The platform was covered with rose petals. Interest is represented by the legends that Mata Hari recounted. It was a romantic girl with a lot of imagination. For example, she said that she knew the sacred oriental dances since childhood. The dancer could say that she is an exotic princess or daughter of the Indian princess and King Edward Seventh, that she has her own horse, which allows her to ride only herself, that she received her upbringing in a monastery in the East. There were many more romantic hoaxes that wrapped around their fans Mata Hari. This ultimately contributed to its grandiose success in the early 20th century. At that time, interest in the East and erotica became especially acute.

Courtesan

Not only in Paris, but also in other European cities, Mata Hari began to speak . говоря, в основном была связана с богатыми поклонниками. Biography, in short, was mainly associated with rich fans. For example, one of them was a French rich man. He invited her to dance to the Museum of Oriental Art. которой пленило добрую часть мужского населения Европы, была очень успешной куртизанкой. Mata Hari, whose photo captivated a good part of the male population of Europe, was a very successful courtesan. It consisted of several high-ranking military, politicians, other influential figures from different countries, including Germany and France. She was given expensive gifts, but she often experienced financial problems and borrowed. According to information, Margaret had a passion for card games. Presumably, it was money that left them. Before the First World Margaret met with a German police officer. Some authors believe that it was then that Mata Hari fell under the supervision of special services . – так впоследствии ее будут называть. "Spy" - so later it will be called.

Double agent

During the First World, the Netherlands was a neutral country. Margareta, being a Dutch citizen, could freely travel to her homeland. The front line passed between the states. Margareta's road lay through Spain, in which the German residency was very active, as well as Great Britain. Her frequent travels attracted the attention of counterintelligence. In the summer of 1914 Margareta went to Paris through Switzerland. She was stopped at the border to check documents. Margarety did not have them, so she had to send all her costumes on, and she went through Berlin to Holland. Arriving home, the dancer was morally defeated. She did not have any means of subsistence. Accidentally, Margaret gets acquainted with a very well-off banker. He soon enough becomes her lover and keeps it. Through him Margaret got acquainted with influential Germans, very generous and kind. Before Paris, the dancer did not reach, and a year later was recruited by the intelligence of Germany. From this moment, Margaret began life as Mata Hari-spy. девушки наполнена множеством слухов. The girl's biography is full of rumors. Far from all the tangles of contradictions managed to unravel the researchers.

Mata Hari: biography (briefly the most important)

When recruiting, Margareta received the call sign H-21. Some authors believe that she became a spy before the war began. The exact circumstances and reasons for the recruitment are unknown. In 1916 the French counterespionage received the first information about her involvement in the work on the Germans. Mata Hari, when she found out about this, herself came to the special services. She offered the French help. At the same time Margareta named the name of one of her lover, known as an agent-recruiter. As a result, the French sent her with a small mission to Madrid. There suspicions of espionage were confirmed definitively. Counterespioners managed to intercept the radio exchange between the German agent and the center. In the information, he pointed out that the reconfigured spy H-21 arrived in Madrid and received a direction from the German station in Paris. There is an assumption that the radio exchange was declassified by the German side specifically to get rid of Margaret.

Arrest

After returning to Paris, Mata Hari was taken into custody. This happened on February 13, 1917. The trial of Margareta passed behind closed doors. She was charged with transferring information to the enemy, which resulted in the death of several divisions. It is worth saying that the materials of the proceedings have been classified to this day. The court found Mata Hari guilty and sentenced to death. Her lawyer tried to release her before the execution. He appealed, but the appeal was dismissed. The lawyer petitioned even the president, but he also refused to grant pardon. The defender even offered to say that she was pregnant to delay the execution of the verdict. But Mata Hari refused to lie.

Execution

October 15, 1917 in the morning for Margareta came guard. She was asked to get dressed and get ready for execution. However, the prisoner was indignant that she was being taken to the shooting without feeding her breakfast. While Margaret was preparing, the coffin had already been delivered. They shot her in Vincennes on the landfill. According to sources, she stood without a trace of excitement and stood very still at the pillar. Margareta turned to the nun and hugged her. Then Mata Hari took off her coat and gave it to the woman. Margareta refused to be tied to the pillar. She also did not agree to be blindfolded. Before her stood 12 soldiers. Having sent them an air kiss, she shouted that she was ready. 11 people shot. The last, the twelfth soldier fainted. There is evidence that one of the officers approached the body and fired once more into the back of the head. After the execution, the body was transferred to the anatomical theater.

The reaction to the execution

The news that a well-known dancer was shot for espionage was quickly riddled with rumors. One of them is already mentioned above. The rumor is about that air kiss. A number of authors believe that he was addressed to Margareta's lawyer, who was her lover. There is a rumor that Mata Hari, trying to distract the soldiers, threw off her clothes and remained naked. However, in 1934, the New Yorker published an article refuting it. According to the information from the note, during the execution the dancer was dressed in a suit specially tailored to order on this occasion. Another source indicates that she was wearing a blouse, a hat-hat, selected by the prosecution at the trial. This suit, according to information, was the only clean and full toilet in prison.

Destiny of the remains

The body of the murdered was not in demand by her relatives. In this regard, it was sent to the anatomical theater. Margarety's head was embalmed. It was kept in the Parisian Museum of Anatomy. But in 2000 it was discovered that the head was gone. Experts believe that the disappearance could have happened in 1954, when the museum moved. Sources in 1918 also indicate that the rest of Margareta's remains were transferred to storage. However, there is no record of their exact location.

Evaluation of activities

Most authors believe that the effectiveness of Margareta as a scout is greatly exaggerated. Experts believe that it is unlikely that the information that she could obtain, was really a serious value for the French or the Germans. In the opinion of O. Pinto, the lieutenant colonel of the Dutch and British intelligence services, Mata Hari undoubtedly won fame. She was the personification of a beautiful woman agent. Together with this, Margareta was an expansive and unintelligent creature. Pinto believes that if the execution did not take place, the world would soon forget that Mata Hari was once. Biography (the film about the spy was first filmed in 1931), of course, was filled with a huge number of events. Not the last place in them was occupied by meetings with representatives of the French political and military elite. The historian Chernyak believes that the danger of divulging these ties could affect the conviction.

Was the benefit of the activity of the agent N-21?

Historians disagree on this issue. Some believe that Margaret was not interested in the success of intelligence. It only created the appearance of intelligence activity in order to get good money from the Germans. According to some sources, Margareta herself said that she remembered about her clothes detained on the border in 1914, and decided to get compensation from Germany for this. Other authors, on the contrary, are convinced that Mata Hari repeatedly passed confidential information to the Germans, working on them until the beginning of 1916 - before the interception of the radiogram. As for the French, when they learned of her crime, they nevertheless did not hurry to punish Margareta. Counterintelligence agents suggested that she work for them. Margareta agreed, but demanded 1 million francs. Mata Hari explained this with her desire to marry a beloved man. The chosen one this time was Vadim Maslov, the Russian captain. He himself did not build grandiose plans with the woman that many men of Paris dreamed of possessing. After a while, Maslov will say that he and Margareta were bound by a fleeting feeling. In an effort to earn more, Mata Hari began to spy in favor of Germany and France, while giving information to them about each other.

Conclusion

In the history of Margareta entered and as a double agent H-21, and as a dancer Mata Hari. снимался не только в 1931 г.) покрыта до сих пор тайнами и легендами. Biography (the film was filmed not only in 1931) is covered up to now with secrets and legends. She was able to hit a huge number of fans. At the same time, there is information that during the interrogation Mata Hari denied her guilt, saying that she had never been a traitor. Some experts believe that it was unintelligibility in the connections that played a role in her arrest and subsequent shooting. Her lovers, patrons, sponsors were quite influential people. However, they could not and probably did not even try to help her. This is understandable. Nobody wanted to lose their position in society for the sake of the dancer. And then, there were other women, with less tarnished reputation. Meanwhile, a number of authors believe that it was the image of the martyr that allowed her to become more famous than anyone of the spies of that time. By popularity, she even outscored some of the more effective agents. Mata Hari lived a relatively short but very busy life. Considering that she did not receive professional training as a dancer, the success was simply incredible. To a greater extent, of course, this was facilitated by the active study of her eastern culture during her stay in Indonesia. Not the least role, of course, was played by her imagination, love of romanticism. Many authors conclude that, if Mata Hari does not aspire to a state, she might have lived much longer. Probably, she could get married, become again a mother. But, unfortunately, fate decreed otherwise. Anyway, she was able to win the hearts of many and left her mark in history.